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Everything posted by Red Castle Games

I'm the Events Coordinator for Red Castle Games in Portland, OR. KeyForge is proving very popular at my store so I'm now hosting 2 KeyForge events per week. Normally I've been running chainbound on Thursday nights. However, I'm switching my chainbound day over to Sundays starting 3/3/19. My problem:
GEM won't allot me a chainbound event for 3/3/19 because it thinks I've used up my 1 event for the week. I would rather not have to wait until 3/10/19 to switch from Thursdays to Sundays. Can you allot my account 1 event for 3/3 so I can make the switch this week? Please PM to discuss this issue and I can give you my cell number.
Thank you,
Matt

Red Castle Games is hosting an Invocation event this weekend on Saturday, March 2nd starting at 12 PM. There is only 1 spot left! These events are rare so if you're a fan of Arkham Horror, this is your last chance to get a ton of unique swag!
This event is limited to 4 players. The entry fee is $25. You can register in the store or online at the following link:
Red Castle Game's Invocation Event Online Registration
Each player will receive a copy of the Eternal Slumber scenario plus the following special AHLCG items only available through this event:
• Invocation Playmat
• Promo card dividers to sort your collection.
• A pair of extended art Lucky! cards.
Check-in starts at 12 PM. Please bring 2 different investigator decks. Follow the Stand Alone scenario rules for deck-building found on page 19 of the Rules Reference Guide (i.e. you may spend XP to include higher level cards by taking additional random basic weaknesses). If you have any questions, please contact Matt at events@redcastlegames.com.

By the way, I need to amend my favorite moment from yesterday’s tournament.
It has to be when Greg C picked the acrylic turn dial as his 1st place prize… and then gave it to Tory Z who had been wanting to win one for a very long time. It’s these kinds of moments that make me realize how unique the Armada community is among competitive gamers, and that we’ve got something special in our local player base.

Thanks to all the Admirals that came out to Red Castle yesterday for our tournament! We had 10 players battle it out with a diverse array of commanders, from Konstantine to Leia, Ackbar, Vader and Jerjerrod. We also played some objectives that don't see as much use as people were willing to experiment with their lists and choices, including a pair of Opening Salvos and Salvage Run.
My favorite part was seeing some new faces, including a new player who came in second place (tied on points with first at 15 and 20~ behind on MoV). We'll be doing this again next month on Saturday, March 23rd. Hope to see you there!

A quick reminder that Red Castle's February Armada tournament is this Saturday (2/23). Check-in starts at 11 AM. I've also added some new goodies to our "Prize Wall" which now includes an acrylic turn dial. Every participant gets to make 1 pull from the wall, though that can include a batch of promos depending on what you take!

Red Castle Games is hosting an Armada tournament in February! This is a casual event designed to bring the local Armada community together, help new fans of the game meet other players and give us all an excuse to blow up plastic spaceships for a few hours. Beginners are absolutely welcome.
Here's everything you need to know:
RED CASTLE FEBRUARY ARMADA TOURNAMENT
Where? Red Castle Games
What Day? Saturday, February 23rd
What Time? Check-in starts promptly at 11 AM.
How Much? The entry fee is $10.
How Many Players? Space is limited to 12 participants.
PREREGISTRATION
You can preregister at the store or use this link to pay online: Online Registration
WHAT TO BRING
Please bring a 3x6 space-themed playmat if you have one. Please also bring 2 copies of your fleet list.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
400-point fleets. We will play 2 rounds of Swiss. Players are guaranteed 2 rounds — there won't be any byes.
PRIZES
Prizes are guaranteed for every player. I will create a "Prize Wall" of past and current Armada swag for players to choose from. Last month we had a ton of prizes up for grabs, including an Imperial dice bag and Genera Rieekan promo, as well as Ghost, Boba Fett, TIE Interceptor and Demolisher/Home One alt art cards. This month's prizes will include an acrylic turn dial and a full bleed GR-75 Medium Transport promo card, among other goodies!
If you have any questions, please contact Matt at events@redcastlegames.com. See you there!﻿

Quick reminder that we've got our Red Castle Armada tournament tomorrow, Saturday 26th starting at 11 AM. So far we have 8 players registered. Here are some of the promos we've put up for grabs on our "Prize Wall". And remember, every participant is guaranteed prizes!

Great, hope to see you up in Portland sometime!
With regards to the tournament on the 26th, it's a casual affair that's meant to bring the local Armada community together, allow people to meet new fans of the game, see different fleets in action and basically give everyone a good excuse to play with their spaceships for an afternoon.

@idjmv We've got a great Armada community in the Portland-Vancouver area. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming regardless of how long you've been playing. If you're looking to get in a game, Red Castle Games has Armada open play every Sunday morning starting at 11 AM. I would either post here asking for a match or go to the Portland Armada FaceBook page:
Armada Admirals of Portland
Red Castle is also hosting a tournament on Saturday, January 26th. This is a casual, beginner-friendly event and a great way to meet new players. Here's a link:
Red Castle Armada Tournament 1/26

Red Castle Games is hosting a Season 3 OP Kit tournament in January! Here's everything you need to know:
RED CASTLE JANUARY ARMADA TOURNAMENT
Where? Red Castle Games
What Day? Saturday, January 26th
What Time? Check-in starts promptly at 11 AM.
How Much? The entry fee is $10.
How Many Players? Space is limited to 12 participants.
PREREGISTRATION
You can preregister at the store or use this link to pay online: Online Registration
WHAT TO BRING
Please bring an FFG 3x3 Star Wars playmat if you have one. Please also bring 2 copies of your fleet list.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
400-point fleets. We will play 2 rounds of Swiss.
PRIZES
Prizes are guaranteed for every player. We will award prizes from the Season 3 OP Kit (Demolisher/Home One promo), as well as some additional surprise goodies!
If you have any questions, please contact Matt at events@redcastlegames.com. See you there!

6TH PLACE
Our next player is someone who needs no introduction to the PNW Armada community. @Admiral Theia came in 6th place with 20 points and 231 MoV. Michelle was flying a triple Cymoon list commanded by Moff Jerjerrod — JJ must've realized doubling his efforts wasn't quite enough to please the Emperor so decided 3 ISDs would do the trick!
Michelle won all 3 of her games, but they were close-fought affairs (8-3, 6-5 and 7-4 respectively). This is likely due to the fact that she had the hardest Strength of Schedule out of the top 12 players (and 3rd hardest overall). She faced our 4th-place finisher in her opening match, and then the player who was in 3rd place after round 1 in her second game.
A few things that stood out for me regarding Michelle's fleet:
1. It played fast — her games were always the quickest each round. When facing a long day of Armada this can be a real advantage as mental fatigue sets in.
2. She had fun objectives you rarely see in competitive events. We're all familiar with the Most Wanted, Contested Outpost and Superior Positions suite, so it was nice to see someone take a chance and break out of the objective rut while still making smart choices that played to their fleet's strengths.
With no bid, Michelle obviously planned to go second some of the time and appeared very comfortable with that choice. It was great to have both Blockade Run and Fleet Ambush see play at our regional. While her Blockade Run match turned out to be anticlimactic, Michelle's Fleet Ambush battle vs Tory's Raddus Liberty list was truly engaging and one of the best games I witnessed all day.
Here's a short photo-sequence of Michelle's Fleet Ambush match vs Tory:
Tory deploys his fleet spread out in order to maximize his Raddus drop. His ships are coming in hot at speed 3 and 4.
Michelle tags a flotilla on turn 1 but it scatters the attack. However, the CR90 flying up the middle is not so lucky and it gets vaporized on turn 2.
Raddus drops a fully-loaded Star Cruiser right behind Michelle's battle line!
Michelle's fleet breaks up (after dumping their garbage as is standard Imperial protocol). Tory brings 1 ISD down to a single hull point but can't finish it off. Michelle edges out Tory for the win, 182-146.
Red Castle 2018 Regional 6th Place
RCG 2018 Regionals 6th Place
Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 400/400
Commander: Moff Jerjerrod
Assault Objective: Blockade Run
Defense Objective: Fleet Ambush
Navigation Objective: Minefields
[ flagship ] Imperial Star Destroyer Cymoon 1 Refit (112 points)
- Moff Jerjerrod ( 23 points)
- Strategic Adviser ( 4 points)
- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
= 146 total ship cost
Imperial Star Destroyer Cymoon 1 Refit (112 points)
- Taskmaster Grint ( 5 points)
- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
- Intensify Firepower! ( 6 points)
= 130 total ship cost
Imperial Star Destroyer Cymoon 1 Refit (112 points)
- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
- Entrapment Formation! ( 5 points)
= 124 total ship cost

5TH PLACE
Bryan G., aka @carthwolf, came in 5th place with a score of 21 points and an MoV of 536. He was flying the popular Sloane 2-ship Imperial build with a slight twist — he opted for the Pursuant title on his Quasar over Squall. While he lost his first match 4-7, he came back with an outstanding 10-1 win in round 2 and a solid 8-3 victory in round 3.
Bryan is fairly new to Armada, having participated in only one other tournament before attending our event. Placing 5th out of 24 is quite an accomplishment regardless of your experience level, but to do so as a new player is an achievement that would make even Darth Vader proud. The Force is strong with this one (even if it is the Dark Side).
Speaking of the Darth Lord of the Sith, Bryan was the only player who took him as a squadron. You don't see squadron Vader show up very often in tournament fleets, but Vader rewarded Bryan's faith by being an absolute terror in his 2nd round match where, with the help of Col. Jendon, the Chosen One popped both Soontir and Howlrunner in the same turn before either Imperial ace could fire a single shot. Ouch!
Red Castle 2018 Regionals 5th Place
RCG 2018 Regionals 5th Place
Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 395/400
Commander: Admiral Sloane
Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Contested Outpost
Navigation Objective: Superior Positions
[ flagship ] Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (120 points)
- Admiral Sloane ( 24 points)
- Avenger ( 5 points)
- Captain Brunson ( 5 points)
- Boarding Troopers ( 3 points)
- Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points)
- X17 Turbolasers ( 6 points)
- Leading Shots ( 4 points)
= 174 total ship cost
Quasar Fire I-class Cruiser-Carrier (54 points)
- Pursuant ( 2 points)
- Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)
= 66 total ship cost
Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
- Comms Net ( 2 points)
= 25 total ship cost
1 Darth Vader ( 21 points)
1 Maarek Steele ( 21 points)
1 Dengar ( 20 points)
1 Colonel Jendon ( 20 points)
1 Ciena Ree ( 17 points)
1 "Mauler" Mithel ( 15 points)
2 TIE Fighter Squadrons ( 16 points)
= 130 total squadron cost
Congrats Bryan, I look forward to your return to Portland next year!

FOURTH PLACE
Here's our final fleet for the top four and once again it's the Rebels getting their revenge. I feel like this tournament had some nice parity between the 2 factions. We had 11 Rebels vs 13 Imperials with 2 of each faction placing in the top 4. It's almost like Armada is in a great place now with lots of fleet options and balance between the factions.
Before I delve into this fleet, it looks as though @themightyhedgehog has the inside scoop on our 4th place contestant:
That's quite the fun fact, hedgehog! They do say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and who am I to judge? After all, I find Ithorians adorable 🤗
Our 4th place player also took a Yavaris Rebel aces bomber build, but it was very different from Jamison's list. This fleet had no large ship to anchor it, choosing to use a variety of smaller ships with interesting effects (hello Officer Leia!) to deliver massive bombing runs and manipulate objective tokens.
Congratulations to Mark G. on his success at the Red Castle Regional! He ended the day with 22 points and 684 MoV. Besides being so good looking, here are some more relevant facts to Mark's fleet and performance for the day:
1. Mark was our only player in the top 4 who had no bid. His fleet clocked in at the full 400 points. His other opponents had 400, 392 and 389 points respectively. Mark, I'm curious to know how many times you went first and second?
2. Mark was also the only top-4 player who lost a game. He faced @Admiral Theia's squadronless triple Cymoon JJ list in the opener and she dealt him a 3-8 loss in what was our quickest game of that round.
3. However, Mark also made a huge comeback on turns 2 and 3! I think this bears special mention. I've seen players drop their opening game and it affects their decision making for the entire day, leading to second-guessing or reckless play — I know it's happened to me before. Mark weathered his loss and then doubled his efforts to score a 9-2 and then a 10-1. Resilience, it's a beautiful thing. Of course, according to themightyhedgehog it's not as beautiful as Mark 😉
4. While he came in 4th, Mark had the 3rd highest MoV of the tournament.
5. Finally, Mark had a different ship (and nicely painted in a striking crimson red to boot) on 1 of his flotilla stands to denote Leia. That's a nice touch.
Round 1 = 3-8 (280-475 / MoV 0) vs the aforementioned JJ Triple Cymoons.
Round 2 = 9-2 (520-236 / MoV 284) vs a Vader ISD-II + Kuat Avenger fleet with 5 TIEs flying CAP.
Round 3 = 10-1 (565-91 / MoV 474) vs a Sloane ISD-II Avenger and Demolisher list with Ciena, Valen, Saber, Maarek Stele and Stele's Imperial BFF Colonel Jendon.
Red Castle 2018 Regionals 4th Place
RCG 2018 Regionals 4th Place
Faction: Rebel Alliance
Points: 400/400
Commander: General Rieekan
Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Fire Lanes
Navigation Objective: Superior Positions
Modified Pelta-class Command Ship (60 points)
- Adar Tallon ( 10 points)
- Fighter Coordination Team ( 3 points)
- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)
- All Fighters, Follow Me! ( 5 points)
= 82 total ship cost
Nebulon-B Escort Frigate (57 points)
- Yavaris ( 5 points)
- Flight Commander ( 3 points)
= 65 total ship cost
GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
- Leia Organa ( 3 points)
- Comms Net ( 2 points)
= 23 total ship cost
[ flagship ] Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 points)
- General Rieekan ( 30 points)
= 66 total ship cost
GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
- Toryn Farr ( 7 points)
- Bomber Command Center ( 8 points)
= 33 total ship cost
1 Dagger Squadron ( 15 points)
1 "Dutch" Vander ( 16 points)
1 Corran Horn ( 22 points)
1 Ten Numb ( 19 points)
1 Gold Squadron ( 12 points)
1 Norra Wexley ( 17 points)
2 VCX-100 Freighters ( 30 points)
= 131 total squadron cost
Congrats again to Mark who played exceptionally well in rounds 2 and 3 to propel himself into the winner's circle. Well done, sir. I'll wrap up with this pic of Mark in action. I used a soft lens to bring out his striking features (note the awesome photo bomb by Jeff "Hefe" 😄🤘).

@thecactusman17, thank you for the comforting words, they are much appreciated! My parents would say the same thing to me each night before I fell asleep in my Luke Skywalker PJs. Except that last part, they left that off for some reason. Man, I'm feeling pretty nostalgic right now. I might have to curl up with my Star Wars blankie and cry myself to sleep like a grieving Ewok.
Of course, the only reason people still like me after Regionals is that they didn't have to watch me play Armada. I love this game — it's by far my favorite minis game stretching all the way back to Space Hulk in the late 80s. However, my flying is as ugly as that musical scene from the RotJ special edition.
But enough of my childhood rambling, let's get down to business. Back to the fleet lists!

Not yet, but they're coming. I'm sorry for the delay in my Forums Jedi training Master Brikhause. I had a Force vision while inputting fleet lists into Armada Warlords that my KeyForge friends were in trouble of missing out on a tournament this weekend — I had to go help them!
In other words, I've been swamped with catching up on KeyForge stuff that I had to put on hold for the Armada regional. I'll do some more data entry tomorrow and get lists 4-8 posted along with more pics.

I'm glad you decided to make the flight from Boise and join us for the day, carthwolf. You had a great fleet and some lightsaber-hot dice! Poor @xanderf never even got to shoot with Baron Fel or Howlrunner.
I get nervous at tournaments too, but as you've found the Armada community in the PNW is very welcoming so hopefully you'll join us for some big events in the future.